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Old World and New World Cupressus pollen: morphological and cytological remarks

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Abstract

The aim of this work was to collect new information about pollen morphology and pollen wall structure comparing Cupressus species from the Old World and New World. Cupressus is a nonmonophyletic genus that includes species that appear to be divided into Old World and New World clades. Observations in this study on cypress pollen indicate that grain size and composition of intine β-glucans are different between the considered Old World and New World species. Different from all the other American cypress species, pollen of C. macrocarpa reacted to dying in a similar manner to Old World species. Rehydrated pollen grains collected from 20 Asian, Afro-Mediterranean and American cypress species were measured under a light microscope. The size of the pollen grains and the percentage of intine in relation to the pollen grain diameter were significantly different between Old World and New World species. Pollen wall composition was tested after addition of different dyes to the hydration solution, and subsequent observations were carried out by light and fluorescence microscopy. Lugol and calcofluor staining showed differences in composition of the middle and inner intine layers between New World and Old World species.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Plant Protection, National Council of Research, Via Madonna del Piano n. 10, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy

    R. Danti, G. Della Rocca, B. Mori & G. Torraca

  2. Department of Plant Biology, University of Florence, Via G. La Pira n. 4, 50121, Florence, Italy

    R. Calamassi & M. Mariotti Lippi

Authors
  1. R. Danti
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  2. G. Della Rocca
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  3. B. Mori
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  4. G. Torraca
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  5. R. Calamassi
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  6. M. Mariotti Lippi
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Correspondence to R. Danti.

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Danti, R., Della Rocca, G., Mori, B. et al. Old World and New World Cupressus pollen: morphological and cytological remarks. Plant Syst Evol 287, 167–177 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-010-0309-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-010-0309-y

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